All cracking stuff that certainly has its place. However, you’re not putting your franchise out there to win awards for how much risk you take – if that’s what you want, go and climb Everest in your pyjamas. It’ll probably save you a lot of time and money.
No, you’re in this to get results, and getting people’s attention is only the first step in making your franchise marketing work. After that, you need carefully thought-through, strategic content which delivers on its promises, not surface novelty with no substance.
Otherwise, you end up with blog posts that generate traffic but no enquiries, social media campaigns that get likes but don’t go anywhere, and website copy that fails to address the questions prospects are actually asking.
Investing in content that doesn’t move prospects closer to a decision is the worst risk you can take. One which will cost you real money and real opportunities.
So, how can great content actually reduce risk?
For your prospects:
Potential franchisees are making one of the biggest financial and personal decisions of their lives. The wrong choice could cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds and years of their time.
Great content reduces their risk by giving them everything they need to make an informed decision. That means comprehensive information about investment, support, realistic earning potential, and what day-to-day life actually looks like. It means franchisee stories that show real experiences from real people – people just like them.
When prospects feel confident they have all the information they need, they’re more likely to move forward. When they don’t, they stall, or they walk away – especially these days.
For your business:
Effective franchise recruitment means investing considerable resources into getting it right. Which means every lead that comes in is a cost in terms of your valuable time and money. If they drop out because your content didn’t answer their questions, or because they couldn’t find the information they needed, you’ve wasted all of that.
Worse, if they’re not even the right kind of person for your franchise, you’re just throwing that investment away before you’ve even started to engage with them.
A well-planned and executed content strategy reduces this risk by ensuring prospects can self-qualify and really understand what’s on offer before they even enter your pipeline. It means fewer tyre-kickers, faster decision-making, and higher-quality enquiries. It also means you’re not relying on your franchise recruitment team to answer the same basic questions over and over again. The content does that heavy lifting for you.
For your brand’s reputation:
It’s not just all about convert leads into franchisees. The content you use also represents you as a brand. Vague promises, inconsistent messaging, or content that doesn’t match the reality of your franchise opportunity damages your credibility.
Worse, it erodes the trust which prospects need to have in you to make a confident decision and become long-term, valuable partners.
How great content can actually help you take more calculated risks
On the surface, it might seem like a bit of a paradox, but reducing the risks you take with your content actually frees you up to be more creative and experimental.
However, that only works when you have the fundamentals in place.
So, why don’t we start there?
If you’re interested in exploring how we could work together, or if you’d just like to talk through anything discussed here, let’s schedule a friendly chat.
Just click the button below to choose a time that suits you.
Dan Sherrington
Head of Franchise Storytelling
